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SACRAMENTO COUNTY 



CALIFORNIA 



ITS RESOURCES AND ADVANTAGES 



BY WINFIELD J. DAVIS, County Statistician 



PREPARED UNDER DIRECTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF 

SACRAMENTO COUNTY AND ISSUED BY THEIR AUTHORITY- 

H. K. JOHNSON (Chairman), E. A. MEISTER, CHAS. W. 

McKILLIP, J. H. DONNELLY, GILLIS DOTY 



SACRAMENTO: 

WOODMAN & HOEY, PRINTERS, 1007 FOURTH STREET 

1905 



PRELIMINARY NOTE. 

This publication is issued under the direction of, and 
by the authority of the Board of Supervisors of Sacra- 
mento County, CahTornia, and presents a conservative 
picture of conditions as they exist in the County, and 
incidentally of the Sacramento Valley. Every statement 
made is dependable. 

HOWARD K. JOHNSON, 
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors^ 



/ 



Sacramento Countyf California, 



Sacramento County is among the largest in the Sacramento Valley. 
It was organized by the lirst Legislature: within its confines is the 
seat of State government ; the annual fairs of the State Agricultural 
Society are held in and near Sacramento City. 

Population, census 1900: Of county, 45,915. Of cities and towns- 
Sacramento, 29.282; Folsom, 1.309; Gait, 783; Elk Grove, 361; Florin, 
104; Oak Park. 2,500; Walnut Grove, 223; Isleton, 162; Franklin, 83; 
Cosumnes, 109. In the four years that have elapsed there has been a 
considerable increase of population, and, conservatively, the estimate 
of the inhabitants of Sacramento City can be placed at 32,000, with a 
corresponding increase in the county and the towns. Number of reg- 
istered voters, 1904, 12,938. 

SCHOOL STATISTICS. 

Following are tlie county and city school statistics for the year end- 
ing Tune ^o, 1905 : 

City County Total 

Number of census children be- 
tween 5 and 17 years of age. . . . G,056 3, GO 8 9,GG4 
Total number of children of all 

ages 7,965 4,828 12,793 

Number of teachers employed, in- 
cluding high schools 16.5 87 252 

Number of pupils enrolled in 
grammar and primary depart- 
ments 4,849 2,788 7,637 

Number of pupils in kindergarten 

department 418 418 

Average daily attendance in pri- 
mary and grammar grade 

schools 3,752 2,096 5,848 

Number of volumes in school li- 
braries 3,950 13,558 17,508 

Number of schoolhouses 16 68 84 

Number of school districts, 70 

FINANCE. 
Amount pail for teachers' salaries 

(primary and grammar) $102,721 55 $52,763 02 $155,484 57 

Contingent expenses 36,474 22 13,429 77 49,903 99 

Amt paid for sites, buildings, etc. . 10,925 15 10,328 50 21,253 65 

Total expense for the year 150,374 00 77,695 08 228,069 08 

Valuation of school property 389,250 00 125,288 00 514,538 00 

HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Number of teachers 14 3 17 

Enrollment 446 3 2 47 8 

Number of graduates 43 4 47 

Teachers' salaries $16,880 00 $3,060 00 $19,940 00 

Expenditures for the year 20,743 10 3,570 25 24,313 35 

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS, 1904. 

Amount Value 

Green deciduous fruits 75,000,000 pounds $3,300,000 

Oranges and lemons 50 carloads - 15,000 

Dried fruits — French prunes 3,000,0 00 pounds 60,000 

Peaches 500,000 pounds 30,000 



4 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

Pears 400,000 pounds 

Apricots 100,000 pounds 

Nectarines 8,000 pounds 

Figs 50,000 pounds 

Apples 200,0 00 pounds 

Pitted plums . 40,000 pounds 

Raisins 75,000 pounds 

Almonds 200,000 pounds 

Walnuts 50,000 pouni's 

Wines and brandy 1,250,000 gallons 

Wheat ?.50,000 sacks 

Barley 50,000 sacks 

Oats 140,000 sacks 

Corn 15,000 sacks 

Hay GO, 000 tons 

Potatoes 450,000 sacks 

Asparagus (green) 200 carloads 

Beans 925,000 sacks 

Butter 2,229,000 pounds 

Cheese 864,000 pounds 

Hops 2,80 0,000 pounds 

Olive Oil 23,200 gallons 

Pickled olives 21,200 gallons 

Strawberries 2,000,000 pounds 

Poultry 10,000 dozen 

Eggs 447,000 dozen 

Onions 110,000 sacks 

Root vegetables 85,000 sacks 

Cabbage 175 carloads 

Fish 3,920,000 pounds 

*Gold 

Canned fruits and vegetables 295,624 cases 



28,000 

8,00 

400 

1,500 

5,000 

2,000 

2,200 

20,000 

5,000 

375,000 

735,000 

60,000 

168,000 

30,000 

600,000 

495,000 

240,000 

2,220,000 

557,250 

86,400 

560,000 

40,000 

13,000 

125,000 

40,000 

111,800 

165,000 

70,000 

55,000 

200,750 

335,645 

1,369,000 



*From latest report of State Mining Bureau, 1903. 



vShipments by rail out of the State from Sacramento County in 1904, 
according- to report of State Board of Trade : 

Tons of 2,000 lbs 

Fruit — Green deciduous 41,355.4 

Citrus 354.5 

Dried 16,526.7 

Raisins 918.8 

Nuts 264.3 

Canned 7,750.1 

Wine 15,255.1 

Brandv 426.1 

Vegetables— Green 1,228.6 

Canned 1,814.5 

TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL. 

The area is ahnost all a rich alluvial plain from 30 to 75 feet above 
sea level, gradtially rising from the rivers to meet the low rolling foot- 
hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains ; these foothills commence at the 
extreme eastern part, and are from 6 to 8 miles wide. There are no 
mountains and aside from this foothill belt the surface has only gentle 
undulations. 



The Sacramento River traverses the eastern boundary tortuously 
for about 90 miles across the rich bottoms, cutting them up at the 
lower part into numerous small and several large islands. The Sacra- 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. b 

mento is the loiii^cst and lart2,-est river in the State, and is navit^able 
from Red Bluff to San Francisco Bay. 

The America! River rises in the upper Sierras, and enters the count}- 
at the northicast corner, among the low foothills. It flows in a south- 
west direction through the entire width, a distance of some 35 miles, 
and empties into the Sacramento just north of Sacramento City. 

Thirty miles south of the American is Dry Creek, at the southern 
boundary of the county. Midway between these two rivers, or 16 
miles south of tlie American, the Cosumnes River flows out from the 
eastern foothills, and runs through the county southwesterly, and 
about parallel with the American, dividing the portion of the count}' 
.south of the American into two nearly equal sections. 

The Mokelumne Ri^'er runs along a portion of the south line. Th.e 
section lying between the Cosumnes and the south boundary is again 
divided in about the middle by a watercourse known as the Laguna, 
that runs nearly parallel with the Cosumnes. 

Geological indications prove that in remote ages the entire Sacra- 
mento Valley and a section of the foothills to an altitvide of several 
hundred feet were portions of the bed of a vast inland sea or lake, 
and that into this lake the washings of the surrounding mountains 
were poured to form tlie present soils, which are made up of all the 
fertile mineral and vegetables elements in almost inexhaustible quanti- 
ties. Many assays have been made of these soils from the alluvial 
valleys, the upper lands, and the foothills ; these assays have demon- 
strated that the soils of this valley are unexcelled for fertility. 

Along the borders of the Sacramento River and around the islands 
is a belt of sediment land, partly a clayey, sandy loam, of great depth 
and unexcelled richness, varying in width from half a mile to a mile or 
more. This deposit has been formed by the overflowing of the stream 
for countless ages, and has produced a soil as fertile as that of the 
valley of the Nile. The same quality of soil exists along the lower 
reaches of tlie other riA'ers. The interior of th.e islands is a sedimentary 
deposit from the river and its tributaries, diversified occasionally by 
formations of peat along the lower reaches of the river. 

Next to this belt of river-bank land is a strip of tule land consider- 
ably lower in altitude. This strip is quite narrow in the northern 
half of the county, but expands to a width of about fifteen miles at tlu- 
south. All of these tule lands are naturally subject to overflow in the 
rainy season, and portions of them, and all of the islands, have been 
reclaimed and protected against inundation by substantial levees and 
drainage canals and pumping plants. These reclaimed lands are in a 
high state of cultivation to fruit, alfalfa, and vegetables. 

Thence eastward the surface gradually rises to meet the low foot- 
hills, from whose spurs diverge broad, low ridges of reddish loam, 
gravelly near the hills, and these spurs are alternated with swales 
having a soil somewhat heavier and less deeply tinted. Southeast of 
Sacramento City these reddish loam lands are underlaid by a porous 
and soft material at from two to six feet, and this by an rmper\dous 
clay. 

The belt of foothills is rolling, interspersed with low hills, and its 
soils are red and gravelly clays, having a scattered growth of oaks. 



O SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

CLIMATE. 

A coniparison of the climate conditions of Sacramento County with 
those of the great Riviera and the citrus and olive belt of northern and 
central Italy demonstrates that this county leads that great winter 
sanitarium of the world. This county shows a warmer winter, spring, 
and yearly average temperature, and about the same summer and 
autumn temperature as that of the noted citrus belt of Italy, where it 
is said "perpetual summer exists, skies are blue, and the sun ever 
shines." The average number of clear days in this county is 244, being 
more in a year than for any other inhabited portion of the northern 
hemisphere, except Yuma. The lowest temperature ever reached here 
was 19°, and that occurred but twice in fifty years. Snow is un- 
known, except that about once in ten years th.ere is a slight fall suffi- 
cient to measure, and which melts almost immediately. The average 
winter temperature, according to the United States Weather Bureau 
records at Sacramento, is 48.3° ; average spring, 59.5° ; average sum- 
mer, 71.7° ; average autumn. 61.5° ; average yearly, 60.2°. The av- 
erage annual rainfall is 19.94 inches. The winters are equivalent to 
spring in Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, central Illinois, Indiana, and southern 
Colorado. 

In an able paper on the climate of California, General N. P. Chipman 
gave in substance the following description of that of the Sacramento 
Valley: In judging of climate there is nothing so misleading and in- 
conclusive as tables of mean annual temperatures. The mean an- 
nual temperature here, where there is seldom a frost and rarely a ho' 
day, is only about 5° higher than that of New York, where people 
I^erish both by extreme cold and lieat. Mean temperature conveys 
but a slight idea of actual climatic conditions, and does not necessarilv 
imply either high or low temperatures in summer or winter. The Sis- 
kiyou Mountains connect the Coast Range with the Sierra Nevada::^ 
on the north of the valley. This lofty battlement on the north, with 
that on the east, has nuicli to do in warding ofif the arctic currents 
and deflecting them from the lower valleys. The Coast Range is 
higher toward the north than in the southern boundary of the State. 
It has a height west of the upper Sacramento Valley of 4000 feet. This 
range is an important factor in affecting the climate of the upper in- 
terior valleys by shutting ofif the cool sea breezes of summer, as well 
as by modifying the winds of winter. These ocean breezes of sum- 
mer, that blow almost constantly, are felt in the Sacramento Vallev 
as they enter at the Golden Gate and follow up the valley. The chief 
modifier of our climate, however, is the Japan, or great equatorial 
ocean current, which is deflected northerly and easterly when it meets 
the coast of Asia. It there divides, and a portion strikes the north- 
west coast of North yVmerica, then turns acutely to the southeast, and 
flows along the west shore and past California and Mexico. This 
current has been found to start with a maximum temperature of 88° ; 
at Alaska it is found to be 50.06° ; eight hundred miles west of San 
Francisco, 60.38° ; and one hundred miles west, 55.05°. Here is a 
body of water of an average temperature of 57.89°, and a thousand 
miles wide, that flows past our shores constantly. Observation shows 
that from this surface there flows an air current which rarely rises 
more than two or three degrees above the temperature of the water. 



SACRAMKNTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. / 

This great aerial current that moves with the ocean stream hirgely 
determines the chmate of CaHfornia. 

The valley climate is characterized hy mild winters, warm summers 
(with occasional hot days), a dry atmosphere, and less rainfall than on 
the coast. The summers are practically rainless from the middle of 
May or the first of June to the middle of October or the fir^t of Novem- 
ber. The dryness of the atmosphere makes outdoor labor entirelv 
comfortable, even when the thermometer registers ioo° — and that is 
an extreme rarity. The summer nights are uniformly cool and agree- 
able, and assure refreshing sleep. 

As a sanitarium the Sacramento Valley presents unusual attrac- 
tions. The healthfulness is remarked by all comers. People from the 
East and West who come here to reside experience renewed vigor and 
life. It is an erroneous idea, sometimes entertained, that this mild 
climate begets that lassitude and indisposition to labor so common to 
tropical regions. That does not follow here. We engage, indoors and 
outdoors, in all the occupations found in the temperate zone, and with 
all the zest and ambition that distinguish the American people else- 
where. Another result of great economic value is that every day in 
the year is a comfortable working day. This cannot fail to impress 
the industrious and frugal who wish to utilize their capital, which lies 
largely in daily earnings. Considering our agricultural interests 
broadly, there is no dormant or idle season, or a period when con- 
sumption eats away production, as in countries where severe cold 
paralyzes productive effort for half the year, or exhaustive heat 
restricts in a portion of the other half. Intelligent, diversified agri- 
culture admits of no necessarily idle day, and no period without the 
possibility of adding the productive value of a day's work. With fac- 
tories or the workshops the same is true. Less fuel, less clothing, un- 
interrupted work for the year, and greater comfort result from an 
ecjuable temperature. There is, for the industrious man of moderate 
means, no more inviting countrv on the globe than the Sacramento 
Vallev. 

IRRIGATION. 

The water supply is unlimited and inexhaustible. The first and 
most important source is the Sacramento River. The bank lands 
ordinarily require no irrigation ; but at such times as fruit-growers 
along the river need water it is either siphoned or pumped through 
pipes from the river by gasoline or steam engines. This river carries 
an abundance of water at all times, and if necessary the surplus could 
be utilized to irrigate a large area. 

The American affords an unlimited supply at all seasons of the year, 
and enough ffows out of the county and to the ocean to irrigate all of 
the upper lands, as well as to furnish an unlimited supply of power 
for manufacturing purposes. 

The Cosumnes carries a large body of water in the rainy season, and 
maintains a good supply in the summer, sufficient to furnish ample 
for irrigation purposes, however extensive. 

The Laguna has a good ffow in the winter, and during the greater 
part of the year is quite a stream, but in the latter part of the season 
is generally dry. 



Q SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

Dry Creek is quite a prominent stream. It flows a strong volume in 
the rainy season, and in the driest part of the year gives an ample 
supply for the farmers along its banks. 

The Mokelumne never runs dry, and the topography of the country 
is favorable to the utilization of its waters. 

In addition to the numerous rivers and streams there is, underlying 
the entire area of the county, an inexhaustible supply of pure and 
excellent water for domestic and irrigating purposes. Throughout 
the greater portion this subterranean supply is easily appropriated 
by means of a light lifting power. South of the American River the 
entire western half of the county has this supply within eight to ten 
feet of the surface, while east of that center the depth at which water 
is reached somewhat increases. By reason of this abundant subter- 
ranean water-supply the farmer or fruit-grower who wishes to irrigate 
his land may do so without being dependent on any canal corporation, 
and at a trifling cost. For instance, a windmill with two six-inch 
pumps will cost about $ioo, and has the capacity to irrigate six acres 
in fruit and is often made to answer for eight. Many mills so equipped 
are used for raising water from wells i8 to 20 feet deep, but gasoline 
or steam engines and centrifugal pumps are employed in most cases 
where the need of water is very extensive. 

AGRICULTURE— HORTICULTURE. 

The first venture in agriculture in the Sacramento Valley was by 
General John A. Sutter in 1839. He received a concession of a large 
tract of land from the Mexican Government, and located his fort near 
the junction of the American with the Sacramento River. His first 
wheat field w-as a portion of the land now covered by Sacramento 
City. He planted the first grapevines and fruit trees, and practically 
demonstrated the unsurpassed fertility of the soil of the great valley 
in the north. 

All of the lands of the county are practically arable, and there has 
never been a crop failure. The up, or red, lands in the eastern part 
along the Cosumnes River and between that and the Mokelumne River 
and Dry Creek, and north to and beyond the American River, are 
devoted largely to the growing of grain and hay and to stock-raising 
and dairying, though fruit production is also very considerable where 
irrigation is practiced. Thousands of acres along the river bottoms 
and on the islands are used for the production of all kinds of vege- 
tables, which are shipped East by the carload, and at times by the 
trainload. It is impossible to reach even an estimate of the vast quan- 
tities that are daily carried to the San Francisco markets by the 
various regular and trading steamboats which traverse the river. A 
great deal of this product is disposed of to the canneries in this and 
other counties. These vegetable lands along the Sacramento often 
command an annual rental of $50 an acre. 

vMfalfa grows luxuriantly without irrigation on all the rich bottom 
lands, producing from four to eight tons to the acre in the four crops 
that are cut annually. The average time between the cuttings is from 
thirty-two to thirty-six days, and for six months the fields are used 
for pasturage and dairying. The hay finds a ready market, and yields 
good prices. 



SACRAMENTO COL'NTV, CALII'ORM A. V 

Fruits of all kinds arc i)ruthicc(l on any of the land of the county, 
and particularly on the ri\er hottonis and the islands. 

The winter fruits are oranges, lemons, pomegranates, olives, and 
persimmons, which all ripen in November. December, and January. 
l )rang-es and lemons ripen here earlier than in the southern part of 
the State, and are always sold at fancy prices on that account. The 
Japanese persimmon grows to the size of apples. Olives are very 
|)roiitable. both for pickling and for oil. 

The spring fruits that mature and are marketed in April, Alay. and 
June embrace strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries. 

At Florin, on the western division of the Southern Pacific Railroad. 
<;^ miles south of Sacramento City, is the most productive strawberry 



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STK.WVBERRY FARM AND WINDMILLS AT FLORIN, SAC'KAMENTO COUNTY. 

belt in the State. Its product has a reputation for excellence all over 
ihe Eastern States. The land in this section is principally a red soil 
with a bedrock foundation, tlie soil ranging from two to three feet in 
depth. The depth to water averages about twelve feet, and the flow 
is abundant, though at places, to obtain a stronger current, the boring 
is made fifty or sixty feet to a stratum of quicksand, from which the 
water rises to about ten feet of the surface. The water is lifted mostl}' 
by windmills, though many use steam engines with oil fuel. The 
berries are marketed in California, Oregon, Washington, British 
Columbia, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada. There are three 
local shipping companies that handle the product. There are now 



10 SACRAMENTO CODNTV, CALIFORNIA. 

planted about six hundred acres in strawberries, with about four 
hundred in full bearing. Tokay grapes from this district are shipped 
to Eastern markets through the local associations. From three to four 
hundred acres are planted in grapes. 

After picking his early fruits and collecting the returns, the fruit- 
grower has to attend to the early summer fruits : apricots, plums, 
peaches, pears, and nectarines. The first peaches are ready by the 
last of May, and apricots and the earlier varieties of plums ripen about 
the same time. From then until October there is no cessation in the 
picking and shipping of fruit. Peaches are very largely cultivated 
all over the county, but reach their greatest importance on the river 
bottoms and island lands. From these districts alone hundreds of tons 
are marketed every day, during the season, both in California and in 
the East. 

Apricots ripen early, and of all countries in the world California i.-- 
the only one that has made a thorough success of that fruit, and in this 
county it reaches its very finest development in size, flavor, and pro- 
ductiveness. Much of this product is canned. 

A large number of varieties of pears are grown, among them the 
Madeline, Bloodgood, Dearborn Seedling, Le Conte, Beurre Hardy, 
Seckel, Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre Bosc, Winter Nelis, etc. ; but chief 
among them is the renowned Bartlett. The latter variety is shipped 
in large quantities to every city of any size in the Union, and is as 
well known in New York and Chicago and other centers of popula- 
tion in the East as it is at home. It grows on the rich lands of our 
livers and islands in larger quantities and to greater size than any- 
where else in the world. There has been no instance where an acre 
of Bartletts, on land suited to their cultivation, has failed, during the 
past twenty years, to yield a handsome income. 

Plums are very profitable. They grow to a larg-e size, and are 
shipped in vast quantities to the Eastern and lionie markets and to the 
canneries. Much of this product is pitted and dried in the sun for 
the market. 

Nectarines do well, and are cultivated to a considerable extent. 

In the fall the fruit products are apples, pears, grapes, quinces, 
prunes, and peaches. 

Sacramento County is pre-eminently the home of the grape, and on 
the red lands of the plains it reaches its highest perfection, particu- 
larly with irrigation. The table varieties include the Tokay, Muscat, 
Black Prince, Morocco, Emperor, and Cornichon. They always bring- 
first-class prices for shipment to the Eastern markets. The wineries 
of the State handle quantities of some of these varieties. 

French, or petite, prunes are a leading fruit. They are remarkably 
prolific, and when cured excel the imported article, and bring a much 
higher price in the markets of the world. They do well on any land 
that is suited for plums, and are readily cured for market. 

Figs grow in any part of the county, but on the river bottoms they 
leach a great size, and are remarkably prolific. The common black 
fig requires absolutely no care; the tree is as hardy as the native oak. 
The first cro]) is usually sold green, but the second is allowed to fall 
to the ground, and when dried the fruit is sacked. The Smyrna, or 
"fig of commerce," has been introduced and successfully grown. 



SACRAMKNTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 11 

Raisins are easily cured, the climate being peculiarlv fa\()r.'il)le. 

Almonds have long' been found a reliable and profitable croj). Like 
the fig, the trees re(|uire little or no attention. TIua' can be grown in 
any part of the county. There is ne\-er any trouble to market all that 
is produced, at very satisfactory prices; in fact, there is an am])le 
field for more extended production of this standard nut. 

The English soft-shell walnut has been demonstrated to be a profit- 
able crop. Black walnut trees are extensively grown for shade and 
ornament. 

Broom corn is grown, as is also Egyptian corn — the latter making 
an excellent and cheap food for stock. 

Hundreds of tons of beans of all kinds are produced on the river 
and island lands. The interior of Grand and Tyler islands is to a great 
degree devoted to their production. 

Potatoes, both sweet and Irish, are grown in large quantities on the 
bottom lands; of the latter, the average yield per acre is from loo to 
150 sacks. 

FRUIT AND FRUIT SHIPMENTS. 

Sacramento City, by reason of natural advantages, geographical 
relations to various producing sections, and admirable transportation 
facilities, deservedly bears the reputation of being the largest fruit 
and vegetable shipping point in tlie State. It is the recognized outler 
ior the prodixts of the Sacramento Valley. Within the borders of tlv: 
county every character and variety of agricultural, horticultural, and 
\-iticultural products thrive, and in abundance ; their excellence com- 
mands uniA'ersal and unlimited demand from many portions of the 
civilized world. In fact, the soil will successfully produce anv staple 
product that can be grown on the Atlantic side from Maine to Florida. 
The average number of carloads of green deciduous fruits annualh' 
shipped from Sacramento County is about 1.300, each car averaging 
from twelve to thirteen tons. These shipments are distributed in 
every quarter of the United States and Mexico, and a large quantity 
is marketed in London, Glasgow, and other European cities. In the 
East, Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and Mon- 
treal are regular distributing points, though between here and those 
cities the fruit is sold, and thus the distribution is practicallv all over 
the Ignited States. 

The fruit consists of all the deciduous varieties, such as apples, 
apricots, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, and all kinds of shipping- 
grapes: Muscat, Tokay, Emperor, Cornichon, Ferrara, Verdal, and 
others. 

Ordinarily the highest priced fruit is the Bartlett pear. Each pear 
is a "golden nugget." It is sold in the Eastern markets at an average 
of more than $2 a box. The Sacramento River district is peculiarh- 
the home of this magnificent pear, and from that district immense 
tpi^ntities are shipped each season. The demand for this pear is 
unlimited, and the California product is without competition in the 
markets of the world. AVhat we know and sell as the Bartlett pear 
originated in France, and came to us through English sources. lender 
our favorable climatic conditions it has outstripi^ed tlie jiarent tree, 
and we are shipping the fruit back to the country of its nativitv in a 



12 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNfA. 



state of greater perfection. In the London market California Bart- 
letts in half-boxes of twenty-five pounds each are sold for as high as 
$3. The freight is 85 cents, so the profit is handsome. 

Phnns and peaches find ready sale in England and Scotland. The 
fruit reaches European markets in perfect condition, being specially 
packed and carefully refrigerated. It is landed and marketed in 
London and Glasgow within three weeks after leaving Sacramento. 

Sacramento cherries always maize a remarkable selling record in 
the East. 

VITICULTURE— CITRUS FRUITS. 

In Sacramento County is grown the highest-priced table grape — 
the Flame Tokay. The favorite qualities of this grape are its size 
and beautiful coloring. It has a rich, iridescent bloom, which gives 
it the name "Flame" Tokay. It is, however, by no means the only 
table grape grown. All varieties grown in the State are produced 
with rare success on Sacramento County soil. 

In addition to table grapes, there is a very large market for wine 
grapes. So far as the Sacramento Valley is concerned, viticulture is 
but in its infancy. The Natoma Vineyard, the second largest in the 




loKAY VINEYAKD OF H. U. STEPHENS, A'J' MAYHEWS, SACKAMENTO COUNTY. 

world and covering over 1,900 acres, is in Sacramento County, and 
the largest vineyard (all wine grapes) in the world is at Vina, in 
Tehama County, also in the Sacramento Valley. But it must be 
remembered that the American market alone covers over 75,000,000 



SACRAMKNTO COUNTY, CAMFORNrA. 13 

peo])l(.^ and that a very small proportion is at present supplied by the 
home product. It must also be fully realized that the quality of our 
grapes and wines is no longer a matter of speculation, and that the 
demand for \iticultural products of California is ra])idly increasing, 
not only at liome but abroad. 

The production of citrus fruits in Sacramento County is in its 
mfancy. Oranges grow on any of its soils to perfection, and in late 
years extensive orchards have been planted. The establishment and 
phenomenal success of the colonies at Orangevale and Fair Oaks, 
where land of supposed inferior quality has been demonstrated to be 
peculiarly adapted to citrus and deciduous fruits of all kinds, were 
incentives to the planting of fruit trees, and a very considerable area 
that had been devoted to grain-raising and grazing has been planted 
in orchards. Large quantities are shipped East and much is sold 
locally in Sacramento and San Francisco. They go to the latter city 
by steamboat, by express, and by train. The production of lemons 
and grape-fruit is not as great as the demand warrants, although they 
do fully as well as the orange, and can be raised on any of our lands. 
At Fair Oaks and Orangevale particularly fine specimens of both are 
produced. 

DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS. 

\\'e are indebted to Castle Brothers for an estimate of the amount 
of dried fruits produced in Sacramento County in 1904, and for other 
matters of interest in connection with this character of product. This 
firm handles most of the dried fruit produced in the county, and 
indeed a large part of that produced in the State. The fruits are all 
sun-dried by the growers, artificial evaporators not being used at all. 
The dry atmosphere is specially suited for the drying of fruits, and 
the article so produced is regarded as first class in the markets of the 
world. The -prunes raised on the American River are of superior 
quality, and are everywhere so regarded. Large consignments are 
loaded for Ireland, Scotland, England, and Denmark. They are also 
sold all over the United States and Europe. The foreign trade is 
large. A very respectable portion of the product goes direct to France, 
astonishing as that might seem. Hamburg is an important foreign 
market. The producers receive for their dried peaches an average of 
over 5 cents per pound, cash in hand at the bins in the orchards; for 
their prunes, an average of 3 cents net; for their apricots, an average 
of over 8 cents net ; for their apples, an average of about 3^^ cents 
net ; and for their nectarines and pitted plums, about the same as for 
peaches. A.bout fifteen carloads of raisins were shipped during the 
last season. 

All of the fruits named find a ready market all over the world. The 
figures given in the preceding table for the past season are not to be 
considered as a fair estimate of the average yearly production, from 
the fact that the green fruit market was active and took quantities 
at gratifying prices, and the consumption by the canneries was greater 
than in any former year. 

There are several sections that are especially favorable for develop- 
ment of the almond, notably the Antelope district, where the land 
being high and rolling, frosts are less liable to occur, and the soil is 



14 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

peculiarly adapted to retaining the moisture. Insect pests have caused 
verv little damage. It is always better to have water available for 
irri'o-ation purposes in case of an unusually dry season or durmg a 
serines of dry years, when the soil might become exhausted, butin an 
ordinary season these lands will mature a crop in good shape without 
irrio-ation. The Orangevale and Fair Oaks sections are also very 
favorable for almond production, and from them there is now a con- 
siderable output. Elk Grove is a good district. We import into the 
United States at least five times as much almonds as are produced in 
California and in this State there is a wonderful opening. We could 
supply the market of the country if we had the goods, and there is no 
immediate prospect of any decline in prices, owing to the fact that the 
prince of almonds in the United States is usually dependent on foreign 
market conditions. Another feature in regard to planting almond 
trees is that lands adapted to growing them are not, as a rule, as 
valuable as lands especially fitted for fruit-growing. 
English walnuts, pecans, and peanuts thrive. 

THE CANNERIES. 

The California Fruit Canners' Association possesses at Sacramento 
one of the largest and most modern fruit and vegetable canneries in 
the world. This canning plant is erected on the site of the old plant, 
which has been in operation many years, at Sixth and G streets, run- 
ning through to F. and covers a space of i6o by 320 feet ; is two stories 
in height, thus giving a floor space of more than 200,000 square feet. 
The cost of the building and equipment was, in round figures, $100,000. 
This outlay was deemed advisable by the association, as Sacramento's 
situation commanded the largest and best orchards and fruit lands in 
the State, practically embracing the famous orchards extending ?long 
the Sacramento River from the city to Isleton, a distance of nearly 
40 miles, and along the American River to Folsoni and vicinity, 22 
miles more. Then Yolo, Yuba, Sutter, El Dorado and Placer counties 
contribute largely. The produce manufactured goes to all parts of 
the world, the English settlements on the Nile, and South Africa and 
India taking a goodly portion. This cannery is in operation during 
more months each year than any other in the State, beginning on 
asparagus the latter part of IMarch and running steadily for the suc- 
ceeding eight months, ending the latter part of November on tomatoes 
and beans. During this period the various fruits follow rapidly — 
strawberries, cherries, apricots, blackberries, early peaches, plums, 
pears, late peaches, grapes, followed by tomatoes and beans. In 1904. 
owing to the old plant not having capacity great enough, only about 
140,000 cases were packed ; or (cases containing" a variable number in 
them, according to whether the cans are 2^-pound, i-pound, or gal- 
lons) the number of cans packed exceeded three millions. The new 
building has more than double the capacity of the old one, and may 
reasonably be expected to pack more than five million cans in 1905. 
In fact, the capacity is only limited by the supply of help procurable. 
The weekly payroll is about $4,500, and goes mostly to women and 
girls in sums ranging from $5 to $20, and in turn is distributed to 
nearly ever}^ industry in the city — the butcher, baker, grocer, etc.. 
getting each their quota. Cleanliness in all departments is insisted 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 15 

upon. After the fruit is [)re])are(l for canuiuL;- it is waslicd thorouolily 
in clear, cokl water, placed in the cans and hermetically sealed, and 
then cooked hy steam. The boiler-room has a qreat capacity, being" 
supplied with three large boilers, using- oil as fuel. Fdectricity is used 
wherever possible, such as for running the various elevators, box 
printing and nailing machines, etc. 

The California Fruit Canners' Association also possesses another 
canner}- in tlie county, at X'orden, on the Sacramento River, 26 miles 
])elow the city. This cannery packs only asparagus, being situated 
in the vicinity of the finest asparagus fields in the world. This season 
the output will be at least two and a half million cans of this luscious 
product, supplied by about 1600 acres of asparagus plants, which is 
under contract for a term of years to this association. The asparagu- 
pack of 1904 was 56,000 cases, valued at $224,000. 

The Central California Canneries commenced operations in 1901. 
They have an extensive establishment in Sacramento City, and, like 
the others, do a prosperous business. The general remarks as to the 
advantageous position for procuring the choicest of fruits, the methods 
of canning, the market advantages, etc., apply as well to this cannery. 
This establishment did not pack asparagus in 1904, but does in 1905 
and will hereafter. In 1904 the pack was 99,624 cases ; value, $500,000. 
On an average five hundred persons are employed during the season. 
The pack is marketed all over the world, and recently a considerable 
trade has sprung up in the South Sea Islands and South America. 

STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 

Sacramento County presents great opportunities to the livestock 
breeder and the dairyman. The climate is so even, temperate, and 
mild that animals remain in the open air, practically uncheltered, the 
year round without hardship. The soil, because of its richness, is 
peculiarly adapted to the growth of forage crops, especially alfalfa, 
wh.ich is at the same time one of the best and the cheapest of stock 
feeds. Because of the economy with which livestock can be main- 
tained and the cheapness with which food can be produced, there is 
a large margin o profit in breeding and rearing farm stock. Animals 
mature early and produce heavily, and their judicious breeding has 
been profitable. There are six large and several small creameries. 
The average character of the dairy stock is fair, and is being con- 
stantly improved by the introduction of well-bred animals. The 
average production of butter per cow per year is not high, but the 
conditions are favorable for a very large product. The breeding of 
pure-bred pedigreed cattle is engaged in by several persons, but not 
as extensively as the profits of the business would seem to render 
advisable. The dairy product of California has heretofore been quite 
insufficient for the supply of the home demand, and as a consequence 
butter and cheese, as well as eggs and cured meats, have been im- 
ported. This short supply has insured profitable prices. Butter 
manufactured in creameries has been sold in ^Alaska, British Columbia, 
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Arizona, with some few 
shipments to the Philippine and Hamaiian Islands, China, and Japan. 
Aloit of tlie cheese is produced in the southern portion, on the 
Cosumnes River, wdiere there are twelve factories. 



16 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



While the farmer as a rule raises more or less stock, the production 
of beef cattle is not sufficient to supply the demand for meat in the 
county, and most of the beef comes from the northern coast, princi- 
pally southern Oregon. What stock is produced finds a ready sale at 
good prices. 

Sheep are raised in the section north of the American River and in 
the southern and eastern portions of the county. From May to 
October these sheep are pastured in the mountain ranges of the Sierras. 

Hogs are raised generally by the farmers, and several breed pedi- 




DAIKY SCENE, SACRAMENTO COUNTY. 

greed Poland-China. Berkshire, and Essex swine quite extensively. 
The breeding of pedigreed hogs has been very profitable. 

POULTRY AND EGGS. 

The poultry business has steadily increased in importance in the 
last few years, and while it has not received the attention that it 
deserves it may be noted that, excepting alone the famous Petaluma 
district in Sonoma County, it ranks first in the State. At Elk Grove, 
15 miles south of Sacramento City, on the line of the railroad, and but 
5 miles east of the Sacramento River, is the principal poultry district 
From the depot of that town it is not unusual that eighty cases of 
thirty dozen each of eggs are shipped in a day, and the net average 
income for the season is reckoned at about $1 per hen. 

Near Sacramento City the raising of poultry is made a specialty 
by many, and with profit. It requires, however, strict attention and 
the supplementing of careful and intelligent aid to the favorable con- 



SACKAMKXTO COUXTV, CALIFORNIA. 



17 



ditions of nature. As an exami)lc of the protit tliat can be realized 
from poultry it may be instanced that the Messrs. Stickney, at Elk 
Grove, from their White Legliorn chickens receive an annual income 
of $9,000. The fowls are kept on tliirty acres of land, part of which 
IS in alfalfa and the standard varieties of fruit, which of course, yield 
an additional revenue. 

Many persons breed fancy poultry — all the leadiui^' \:irieties beino- 
represented. 

Frank Newbert has a poultry farm about one mile south of Sacra- 
mento City. He has made the poidtry business a careful study, and 
at the start selected quality and not (juantity. At this time he lias 
1,500 White Leghorns. His houses are so arranged that the chickens 
from each pen have a free run on the green alfalfa. In connection 
with his plant he has a green bone cutter, tliat will handle one hundred 
pounds per hour and it is run by a three-horsepower gasoline engine. 
In speaking of the pouhry industry of the county Mr. Newbert writes: 




POULTRY FAKM OF FKANK NEWBERT, NEAR SACRAMENTO CMTV 

"A number of the poultry farms ha^'e from six hundred to two th.ou- 
sand hens. Seven hundred and fifty chickens can be kept on one acre, 
and when it is considered that each hen will pay a clear profit of one 
dollar per annum, it can be readily seen that the business is very 
remunerative, and when cond^ined with the other lines of diversified 
agriculture a prudent and industrious man has no trouble in making 
a comfortable living for himself and family. Rut witli the pou.ltry let 
him begin right and give quality the first place; quantity will follow. 
Sacramento County raises an immense quantity of vegetables and 
considerable grain, and it is easy for the ponltrymen to get the best 
feed at a low price. The White Leghorn is the money-maker, and in 
all of the large and successful poultry farms that variety predominates. 
There is another advantage: as yet California does not produce one 
half of the poultry and eggs for her consumption. For that reason 
the home production finds a ready market and at satisfactory prices. 
There is plenty of money in the poultry business, but to obtain the 
best results let it be understood that one must work hard and give 
careful attention. The work, however, is interesting and healthy. 



18 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

The poultryman can always command cash for his, output. He always 
has a ready market and one that is never dull. In winter eggs have 
sold as high as 60 cents per dozen." 

STOCK FARMS. 

No State has more complete and valuable natural advantages for 
the growing of stock than lias C?difornia, and it cm not be long, if 
present indications mean anytliing, when sh.e will take precedence, 
even of the far-famed Kentucky, in the number and extent of her 
foaling farms. Indeed, it has come to pass that no race in the broad 
East, from New Orleans to New York, is considered worth material 
attention unless it has one or more representatives from the great 
stock farms of the Golden State. It is with peculiar pride that the 
people of Sacramento County call attention to the fact that the most 
famous stables of the State are within her borders. Located in this 
county, and only five miles from th.e State Capitol, is the larges!: stock 
farm devoted to thoroughbred horses in the world. Reference is 
particularly made to the great breeding farm at Rancho del Paso, to 
the north of the city of Sacramento. Here the thoroughbred and 
trotting and draft horses are brought to their highest degree of per- 
fection, and all over the nation their fame has gone. Kentucky can 
not, in its highest glory, boast of so far-famed and extensive a breeding 
farm as this. California h.as other noted stock farms, and it may be 
said, with a bold challenge to all disputers, that they are not to be 
excelled by the best in England or America. And why should not this 
be true? Here is the most superb of climates; here cm be grown the 
choicest of feed; here there is every incentive in the realm of nature 
for the production of the highest types of the breeder's skill. The 
days are rare or never come when the finest horses may not be exer- 
cised, and the climate is likewise decidedly in favor of the fast possi- 
bilities of the young and growing animal. The Rancho del Paso 
contains 44,000 acres. John Mackey is the superintendent, and it is 
since he assumed its management that Rancho del Paso began to take 
the foremost position it now commands. The trotters and thorough- 
breds are kept in difl:'erent parts of the farm, and good exercising 
tracks are maintained for both. The horses from Rancho del Paso 
that have been heard of in the East are too well known to need men- 
tioning, and it is enough to know that they have gallantly maintained 
the claims of Sacramento County as the bright particular spoi in Cali- 
fornia for the development of the finest thoroughbred horses. The 
annual sales of th.ese horses at home, in the East, and in Europe have 
come to be considered great opportunities for lovers of the horse, and 
the prices realized satisfactorily demonstrate this appreciation. 

Another farm, the Rancho del Rio, is situated three miles south 
of Sacramento City. This farm is under the management of Thomas 
Fox. There are over 1,000 acres devoted to the rearing of horses. 
From this farm came Emperor of Norfolk, the Czar and Yo Tambein, 
which in their time were considered among the best horses in the 
United States. At the head of the horses of the Rancho del Rio is 
St. Avonicus, son of the greatest sire of race horses in the world, St. 
Simon, who was never beaten. The Rancho has also Cunard, grand- 
son of Ormonde, the horse of the century. Although young under its 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, (A I.II- OKN I A. 



19 



present managenient. this farm jtromises ti) l)cc(inu' one of the best 
in California. It maintains eiij^^ht}' lirood mares and four stallions. 

I1()L\S. 

Along' tlie Saeraniento, .Ameriean. and Cosnmnes rivers are tlie 
n:ost productive ! O]) fields in tl:e I'nited States. Ilo]) cidture on this 
coast dates back' to i85(S, when the first roots were imported from 
X'ermont by Daniel and Wilson h'lint and planted in Alameda County. 
Hop culture developed slowly, because of the prejudice of brewers 
ag'ainst a h.op that contained so much greater percentage of strength 
llian that which tliey had been accustomed to use; l)Ut in lime they 
found that it did not take as much for a brewing. It was earlv 




HOP-P[CKING SCENK, SACKAMENTO COUNTY. 



den:onstratcd that th.e soil and climate of Sacramento County were 
unsurpassed for hop culture, and that it is the only place known 
v-/here a crop of from i.cco to 2, coo pounds per acre can be grown the 
first year the roots are planted. It is a common occurrence to grow 
2,cco or 3,oco pounds on an acre of ground, and in some instances 
..j.cco pour.ds. The cost of picking is from 80 cents to $i per hundred 
pounds: 28 or 30 pounds of dried hops are obtained from 100 pounds 
of green, and a bale averages from 180 to 200 pounds. From the 
stock imported by the Flint brothers the roots in (3regon, Washington, 
and throughout California were obtained. In one year $3,000 worth 
of roots were sold from their yards. In 1904, 1.255 ''^cres were planted 



20 SACRAMENTO COINTY, CALIFORNIA. 

in hops in Sacramento County. The crop is shipped to all parts of the 
world, but is consumed principally in the Eastern States and England. 
About 6,GCO bales are used by the local market. 

WINES AND BRANDY. 

There are eight wineries in the county — the California, Kohler & 
Van Bergen's, Nevis's, and the Eagle in the city; one at Elk Grove, 
one at Bruceville, one at Folsom, and one at Natoma. The product 
consists of sherry, port, angelica, claret, and brandy. The output is 
shipped all over the world, and is principally disposed of in the United 
States, Central America, and the Islands. The vintage for the season 
of 1504 was an ordinary one. The wines were of fine quality, carrying 
a good bouquet, strong in alcohol and saccharine, but slightly light in 
color. Other than the last objection, the county has never turned 
out a better quality of wine. The port is not heavy in body nor dark 
in color, but it is rather more delicate and lighter, having great char- 
acter, and resembling closely the light, high grade ports of Portugal. 
The count}^ has a great reputation for fine sherry. The range of 
climate, together with the soil, seems to produce a quality of grape 
which makes a fine grade of that class of wine. There has not been 
as much grape-planting as has been going on in other counties, but 
sufficient planting is being done to take the place of the acres being 
devastated by that arch-enemy of the viticulturist, the dreaded phyl- 
loxera. Farniers are being gradually educated to the use of resistant 
roots, and where vineyards are going out and new ones coming in, 
tlie larger percentage of the farmers are using resistant stock. 

FISH AND GAME. 

The natural fish in the rivers are salmon, sturgeon, pike, perch, 
hardheads, and dace. Those planted are striped bass, black bass, shad, 
and three kinds of catfish. The only fish propagated is the salmon, 
in the headwaters of the Sacramento. All of the planted fish have 
multiplied satisfactorily. In the open season large numbers of salmon 
and other fish are taken and sold in the local and San Francisco 
markets. 

In the line of game, there are geese, ducks, quail, curlew, doves, and 
larks. All but the geese are protected. The wild geese arrive from 
the north from the 15th of September until about the last of October. 
The varieties are the honker or Canada, the speckled-breasted brant, 
two of the white brant, the Mexican or black, and the China. The 
ducks are mostly migratory. Of the non-migratory species are the 
mallard, spoonbill, pnd wood duck. The migratory ducks that come 
from the south are the red-head and the blue-winged teal; and from 
the north the green-winged teal, widgeon, sprig, canvasback, gadwell 
or gray duck, blue-bill and black-jack. 

RAIL AND RIVER TRANSPORTATION. 

Few counties contain a greater mileage of railroads than does Sac- 
ramento. From the Capital City the Central Pacific leads eastward 
acrosri the continent ; the California & Oregon passes to the north into 
Oregon, and from thence to Washington, and also to the Eastern 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



21 



States: the Western I'aeific, vvliich terminates at Oakland, connects 
also with the Southern overland line at Lathrop, and at Gait a branch 
line runs up into the county of Amador; the California Pacific runs 
on the west of the Sacramento River to Oakland ; and the Sacramento 
& Placerville passes along- the American River tlirough Folsom, and 
tl:ence into the county of El Dorado. From most all of these roads 
branches extend into the various counties of the Sacramento Valley. 
From its g-eographical position, Sacramento City is the natural rail- 
road center of the central and northern portions of the State, and the 
agricultural and mineral products of this great and rich section of the 
American Union are shipped from her ample storehouses. 

The Southern Pacific Company operates two 'Steamboats that make 
daily trips between Sacramento and San Francisco, touching at the 
various towns and farm landings to receive and discharge freight. 
The Sacramento Transportation Coiupany operates eight steamboats 




VIEW OF THK SACHAMENTO KIVEK FROM KAILKOAD BBIDGE, SACRAMENTO CITY 

and twenty-five barges that are run between Red Blufit" and San Fran- 
cisco. They touch at all landings, and move a great part of the grain 
that is produced in the up-river counties, as well as all other kinds 
of freight. The Farmers' Transportation Company is controlled by 
an association of farmers. Its steamboats run between Colusa and 
San Francisco, making weekly trips. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Sacramento City, being the center and metropolis of a rich portion 
of the State, the heart of a vast railroad system, the point from which 



22 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



vteamers pass to the north and to the south, and with unlimited 
water and electrical power at her very doors, presents advantages in 
manufactures excelled by no other city on the coast. Here are located 
the extensive shops of the Southern Pacific Company, where about 
3.0C0 n":cn are employed, and in which the company builds its own 
cars and general rolling stock, and do?s its own repairing. These 
shops occupy some no acres. But tl-e greit and overshadowing 
sitperiority the city possesses is the unlimited cheap power. For 
ye3rs the great power of the swift-flowing American was allowed to 
go to waste, but in 18:88, at the Folsom State Prison, twenty-two miles 
from Sacramento City and in the county, a mighty granite dam was 
constructed across the river. At that point solid blufifs of rock rise 




ELEcrurcAL POWER hou.se at folsom, sackahento county. 

on either side, affording a splendid site. The corner-stone for the 
structure was laid September 14, i888, and the work was vigorously 
]-)rosecuted to completion. The natural fall of the American gives as 
great a force as any other stream west of the Rocky Mountains, and 
the artificial assistance rendered by the dam creates added power. 
From the canal the water falls upon turbine wheels. Five generators 
produce the electric power, and it is transmitted to Sacramento City 
i)y four circuits on two sets of poles, so as to guard against breakages 
and accidents. The distance of the generators from Sacramento is 
22.4 miles. The Sacramento Electric, G^s and Railway Company 
receives and controls this power. Each of the five generators produces 
one thousand horsepoAver. In addition, the company receives current 



SArRAMi:.\TO ("ClUNTV, ("ALT [OK MA. 23 

at 40.CCO- \()lts from tlu- liay Counties Coni])any power phint that is 
located on the North Yuha, 35 miles ahovc Marysville. I'he power 
IS transmitted to Sacramento over a circuit of 64.2 miles in lenglh. 
With the combined power so received the- street car lines of the 
company in Sacramento City and subur1)s are o|)erated. These lines 
are 24.5 miles long-. The lighting of the city is from this source. It 
also furnishes an aggregate of o^'er three thousand horsepower for 
m.anufacturing purposes in and about tb.e city. 

The Central California Electric Company derives its [jower from 
abrupt drops in the canals of the South Yuba Water Company, located 
m Placer and Nevada counties. The water company has an immense 
storage system for municipal supply, irrigation, and water power, 
and maintains twenty reservoirs on the divide, or in the upper fool- 
hills, thirteen distributing reservoirs in the lower f(jothills, four hun- 
dred miles of canal (three hundred of which will carry one thousand 
miners' inches), besides many miles of flumes, pipe-lines, and tunnels. 
The whole forms a vast network over Placer and Nevada counties, 
stores two billion cubic feet of water, and sustains the flow of six 
thousand miners' inches for one hundred and fifty days of drought. 
The electrical power-houses of the Central California Electric Com- 
pany are three in number — at Newcastle, in Placer County, 28 miles 
distant, and at Auburn, also in Placer County, t:,t^ miles distant. The 
aggregate output of these two is nearly two thousand horsepower. 
A third power-house at Alta, 65 miles from Sacramento, in Placer 
County, has an output of three thousand horsepower. The Central 
California Electric Company supplies power, and illuminates New- 
castle, Penryn, Loomis, and Rocklin, in Placer County, and about 
fifteen hundred light consumers, its incandescents amounting in the 
aggregate to about fifteen thousand. 

ROADS AND BRIDGES. 

One can drive in any direction, at any time of the year, wdth no 
inconvenience, over roads that favorably compare with the streets in 
many towns elsewhere in the State. All of the bridges and roads arc 
free for travel. 

The Sacramento River is spanned at the city by a new bridge, and 
iower down several ferries are maintained. The American is bridged 
north of the city on a line with Twelfth Street to connect with Placer 
County : at Fair Oaks ; above at Folsom. to reach the county of Placer ; 
and still farther at Mormon Island, to connect with the county of 
El Dorado. There are four bridges across the Cosumnes — one at 
McCracken's, one at Live Oak, one at McConnell's, and the fourth 
at Michigan Bar. Across the Mokelumne is a bridge at Benson's ferry, 
connecting with San Joaquin County, and a ferry connecting Staten 
and Tyler islands. A steel drawbridge spans Georgiana Slough, and 
connects Andrus Island with the main land at \Valnut Grove. 

The county authorities have experimented with bituminous oils on 
the roads, with a view of laying the dust in the summer and of pre- 
serving their integrity during the winter months. It has proven to 
be practicable, economical, and lasting in its efifects. 

MINING. 

Placer mining is prosecuted to a considerable extent around Folsom. 



24 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

the inrlustry having again come into prominence. On the American 
River, in what is called the Folsom district, that extends from the 
town of Folsom to a short distance below the Fair Oaks bridge, a 
distance of a little more than six miles, extensive dredge mining is 
being carried on. Most of the gravel is on the south side of the river 
and in width from i to i^ miles. The area of gravel so far acquired 
for dredge purposes is about 5,000 acres. These mining operations 
are in the hands of people with plenty of capital and skilled engineers. 
One of the companies has a machinery plant larger than any other in 
California, outside of San Francisco, and is prepared to do its own 
repairing and build its own dredges. The data here presented are 
condensed from a recent bulletin issued by the California State Mining 
Bureau. The gold is comparatively evenly distributed, and the results 
of drill samples indicate that the gravel will average from 15 to 25 
cents per cubic yard and that the ultimate. probable yield will be over 
$40,cco,coo. Electric power is used and there is an abundance of 
water, both power and water being supplied at low rates. The gold 
is comparatively very fine in size particles and has a mint value of 
about $19 per ounce. The Ashburton Mining Company has area hold- 
ings of 310 acres. It began operations in March, 1899, with a dredge 
that was burned May 25, 1903. Its new dredge, made by the company 
at a cost of $120,000, is in operation and another one will be built 
The El Dorado Gold Dredging Company has area holdings of 550 
acres. It has one dredge. The Colorado-Pacific Gold Dredging Com- 
pany lias area h.oldings of 200 acres. It has two dredges, one of a 
capacity of 35,000 cubic yards per month, and the other of 60,000 
cubic yards. Another company, the Folsom Development, is in oper- 
ation, but its manager did not furnish an}^ information to the Mining 
Bureau. 

SACRAMENTO CITY. 
Sacramento City, the capital of California and the county seat of 
Sacramento County, is situated on the east bank of the Sacramento 
River, immediately south of the mouth of the American. The distance 
by rail from San Francisco is 90 miles. The business portion is built 
of brick and the residence portion of wood. Shade trees are abundant 
and almost every residence yard is lawned and planted with orange 
trees, palms, and ornamental shrubbery and plants. The imposing 
State Capitol building, that cost about $3,000,000, is one of the finest 
of its kind in the United States. It stands in the middle of a park of 
thirty-eight acres, almost in the heart of the city. The park is 
beautifully laid out in trees, shrubs, and flowering plants that repre- 
sent all portions of the globe. At the east side of the park is located 
the Exposition Pavilion of the State Agricultural Society, and also 
the State Printing Ofiice and Bindery. The Federal building, of red 
sandstone, costing $150,000, accommodates the postofifice, the revenue 
and land ofiices, and the weather bureau station. The waterworks 
are the property of the city, and water-takers are charged at a rate 
to afiford a revenue slightly in excess of the amount necessary to meet 
the operating expenses. The lines of two electric power companies 
enter the city. The street railway lines and most of the manufactories 
receive their energy from these powers. The city is lighted by elec- 
tric lights from the power of these companies. The natural-gas wells 



SACRAMKNTO COUNTY, CALIIORNIA. 



25 



ill the cit_\- yield an abundance of gas for domestic purposes — heating 
and cooking. Idierc are fourteen public school buildings, one of them 
for the high school ; a Catholic college under charge of the Christian 
Brothers; a conventual school conducted by the Sisters of Mercy: 
and also two business colleges, and an art school. The number of 
church buildings is twenty-six. Tliere are two ori)han asylums, a 
foundling home, a home for aged women, one for old men, and one 
for destitute and erring girls and women and their children — all con- 
ducted mider private auspices. The State Library- of 130,000 volumes, 
in the Capitol building, is one of the most complete in the United 
States. It contains many rare books and engravings. The city main- 
tains a free public library of 36,000 volumes in a tv/o-story and base- 
ment brick building that it owns. The Crocker z^rt Gallery, an im- 
posing and commodious fire-proof building, with its contents — rare 
and expensive paintings and statuary purchased in Europe and 
America — was presented to the city by the late Mrs. Margaret E. 
Crocker, and is free to all visitors. Sacramento is perhaps the best 
ornamental-parked city of its corresponding size in the United States. 
In addition to the State Capitol grounds, and those at Sutter's Fort, 
as it is now restored, the city has a tract of thirty-seven acres that was 
purchased for a playground for children. It is called "]\lclvinley 
Memorial Park," and is under the control of five trustees. In addition 
the city maintains three parks of two and a half acres, or a full block. 
each, that are lawned and planted with ornamental trees and shrubs. 
During the summer months evening band concerts are given in the 
parks of the city. The first railroad in California was projected from 
Sacramento City to Folsom in 1856, and it was from this city that the 
first transcontinental railroad in America was inaugurated in 1863. 
The city is on the line of four branches of the Southern Pacific system, 
two of which are transcontinental. 

In Sacramento City is the office of the Sacramento Valley Develop- 
ment Association, which represents twelve counties of the Sacramento 
Valley and is actively engaged in an effort to attract the attention of 
the world to the advantages of this great valley and bordering moun- 
tain chains. This association is representative of a spirit of co-opera 
tion which prevails among the Sacramento Valley communities. 
Through it the county governments are working together for the 
development of their resources and the improvement of conditions in 
various ways. The local chamber of commerce has a large member- 
ship of representative citizens and is doing effective work in the line 
of development of the county and its contributary territory. A\'. A. 
Reard is Secretary of the Sacramento Valley Development Associition, 
and John C. Ing of the Chamber of Commerce. Communications ad- 
dressed to either will meet with prompt response. 

Sacramento County presents unusual attractions to the intelligent, 
industrious and prudent liomeseeker who wishes to engage in diversi- 
fied farming on a small holding. Here he will find an ecjuable climate, 
a fertile soil, independent irrigation facilities, a ready market, excej)- 
tional educational and social advantages, commercial and industrial 
opportunities, combined with an opportunity to ])urchase desirable 
land at a reasonable price. It is the fact that lands adapted for the 



26 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 

establishments of permanent livelihood under the most favoring con- 
ditions may be secured on terms both reasonable and convenient. 

GENERAL STATISTICS. 
A.rea of county, 987.66 square miles, or 632,108 acres. 

Number of acres assessed 1905 607,192.03 

Value of country real estate $11,287,330 

Of improvements thereon 2,219,570 

Of city and town lots 8,519,760 

Of improvements thereon 8,126,000 

Of personal property 5,457,110 

Total value of all property 35,609,770 

Expended on roa3s, 1905 71,651.80 

Expended for bridges, 1905 35,584.72 

Assessed value -of railroads, 1905 1,570,853 

Land Values in Sacramento Valley, 

A communication was addressed to William Beckman, President of 
the People's Savings Bank, asking for his conservative judgment of 
land valuations in the Sacramento Valley. His reply was submitted 
to the Farmers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank and the Sacramento 
Bank, and the officers of those fiscal institutions have given it their 
unqualified indorsement. The standing of these banks and their in- 
tegrity can be ascertained at any banking house. The letter of Mr. 
Beckman is as follows, with the attestation of the officers of other 
banking houses : 

"In compliance with your request I give herewith my views regard- 
ing valuations of lands in the Sacramento Valley, and its productions. 
I have been appraiser for the People's Savings Bank for the past 
twenty-six years, hence am familiar with the values of lands. 

"At the present time number one grain land can be purchased foi 
from $20 to $50 per acre ; second class grain land from about $10 to 
$20; alfalfa, fruit and hop lands are valued at from $150 to $300 per 
acre. Grape lands on uplands, which will produce good grapes with- 
out irrigation, are selling at from $15 to $40 per acre. Grape lands 
that have irrigation facilities sell at from $50 to $100. 

"As a general thing, our valley is not half under proper cultivation. 
Some of our best lands are used for wheat exclusively, while they 
would produce almost anything else you might wish to raise on them, 
and at a better profit than wheat yields. The great drawback to the 
valley has been the large holdings. Whenever these large bodies 01 
land are divided up as they should be, the Sacrainento Valley will 
treble its population in a short tinie. I have traveled over a consider- 
ably portion of the earth's surface, and I do not know of any place 
where you can produce so much to sustain the human family as in the 
Sacramento V\alley. You can produce almost anything in the horti- 
cultural and agricultural lines that you may plant ; and when the land 
is properly farmed and cultivated, it will yield a large interest on the 
investment. 

"You will bear in mind that as I have Ikhmi ap])raising land for loans, 



SACRAMENTO COUxNTY, CALII-ORNIA. 27 

1 have necessarily always been very conservative in my estimates of 
values, and the above figures are upon the same basis. 

"AVill say furthermore, that the Sacramento Valley has better facili- 
ties for irrigating than any other place I know of, both from streams 
and from bored wells with pumping plants. There is an abundant 
supply of water all the way through the Sacramento Valley. In some 
places it is near the surface, and in others you have to dig some dis- 
tance ; but the supply of water is there. The mountains on both sides 
of the valley are natural reservoirs, and always will be. 

"Good grazing land can be bought at from $3 to $10 an acre. This, 
of course, is in the foothills on both sides of the valley. 

"If you desire any further information that I can give, I shall be 
pleased to furnish it. 

''Yours truly, 

WM. BECKMAN, 
President and Manager of People's Savings 
Bank. Sacramento, California." 
P. B. GREEN. 
President Farmers" and Mechanics' Savings Bank. 
SACRAMENTO BANK, 
By J. M. Henderson, Jr., Cashier. 



General Review, 

Area, 987.66 square miles ; nearly as large as Rhode Island. 

Population about 50,000. 

Assessed valuation, 1904, $36,184,197. 

Climate equable; summer nights cool. No sunstroke, snow or bliz- 
zard. 

Rail and Transportation facilities. River, Steam and Electric. 

Expended on roads, 1904, $84,904. All roads and bridges free. 

Average annual rainfall, 20 inches. 

No recorded failure of crops. 

Contains the noted Flame Tokay Grape District. 

The home of the Bartlett Pear and the French Prune. 

No problem of irrigation ; water readily accessible from never fail- 
ing streams and subterranean supply. 

Soil of unexcelled fertility, on which anything that can be grown 
from Maine to Florida can be successfully produced. 

Flourishing orchards and vineyards, with and without irrigation. 

Contains the second largest vineyard in the world. 

The only district in the State that ships berries in full carload lots. 

Has the largest thoroughbred breeding farm in the world. 

One of the largest producers of hops of any county in the United 
States. 

Ships to the East and Europe the greatest bulk of the green decidu- 
ous fruits of California. 

The home of the olive and the fig. 

Fruits and vegetables marketed every month. 

Unexcelled educational facilities. 

Ideal place for diversified farming on small holdings. 



28 



SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 



Illllllllllllllllllllllillllilililii 

012 543 545 2 



The second county in the State for the production of poultry and 
eggs. 

Two Electric Power Lines from American and Yuba Rivers afford 
unlimited energy ; ideal place for manufacturing. 

Sacramento County presents unusual attractions to the intelligent, 
industrious and prudent homeseeker who wishes to engage in diversi- 
fied farming on a small holding. Here he will find an equable climate, 
a fertile soil, independent irrigation facilities, a ready market, excep- 
tional educational and social advantages, commercial and industrial 
opportunities, combined with an opportunity to purchase desirable 
land at a reasonable price. It is the fact that lands adapted for the 
establishment of permanent livelihood under the most favoring condi- 
tions may be secured on terms both reasonable and convenient. 



Conicrvatioa Resources 
Ug-Fn^ Type I 



■V 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



012 543 545 2 • 



